Blog Archives
It’s gods all the way down
Holy hell. Robert J. Wiersema is on CBC’s The Next Chapter comparing my first Cross book, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, to Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Comparing it in a good way! It’s moments like this that inspire me to get back to the computer and write some more. Thanks, Rob! (The segment starts around the 41 minute mark, but the whole show is worth a listen.)
The weird west just got weirder
Beneath Ceaseless Skies has published a Special Weird Western Issue to celebrate the release of the new Ceaseless West anthology. The anthology includes my first Angel Azrael story, The Angel Azrael Rode Into the Town of Burnt Church on a Dead Horse. The special weird west issue opens up the BCS archives to include my second Azrael story, The Angel Azrael Delivers Small Mercies. Why, there’s even an audio version for your listening pleasure. Plus, there’s works by E. Catherine Tobler, Erin Cashier, Shannon Peavey and Saladin Ahmed. All for around $1, depending on which part of the world you hail from — or it’s free online! Why are you still here instead over at Beneath Ceaseless Skies?
Ceaseless West now available everywhere in the wild west online
Ceaseless West, the weird western anthology from Beneath Ceaseless Skies, is now available at all fine e-retailers near you. Featuring my first angel Azrael story, The Angel Azrael Rode Into the Town of Burnt Church on a Dead Horse. Come for the angel gunslingers. Stay for the hellspawn. Also because of the pentagrams that don’t allow you to leave.
Ceaseless West now available on Weightless
Ceaseless West: Weird Western Stories from Beneath Ceaseless Skies, is now available on Weightless Books. My first Azrael story, “The Angel Azrael Rode Into the Town of Burnt Church on a Dead Horse,” is included, along with a whole other bushel of western weirdness. And it’s only $3.99! That’s less than the price of a burnt coffee at the Starbucks outlet in the general store!
Keep the west weird
Hell yeah! I’m thrilled to be part of the Ceaseless West weird west anthology with my first Angel Azrael story, “The Angel Azrael Rode Into the Town of Burnt Church of a Dead Horse.” Get a whole whack of six-gun strangeness for only $3.99 later this month. Just check out this table of contents:
A Feast for Dust • Gemma Files
The Angel Azrael Rode into the Town of Burnt Church on a Dead Horse • Peter Darbyshire
Mister Hadj’s Sunset Ride • Saladin Ahmed
Hangman • Erin Cashier
Bandit and the Seventy Raccoon War • Don Allmon
The Good Deaths, Part II • Angela Ambroz
Between Two Treasons • Michael J. DeLuca
Splitskin • E. Catherine Tobler
The Sixth Day • Sylvia Anna Hivén
Enginesong • Nathaniel Lee
The Crooked Mile • Dan Rabarts
Walking Still • C.T. Hutt
The Heart of the Rail • Mark Teppo
The Judge’s Right Hand • J.S. Bangs
Not the Worst of Sins • Alan Baxter
Songdogs • Ian McHugh
Haxan • Kenneth Mark Hoover
Pale • Kathryn Allen
Ebooks back online, self-destruct sequence terminated
In a celebration of spring, the ebook versions of my Cross books, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice and The Dead Hamlets, have returned. The books disappeared a few days back as my publisher, ChiZine, switched distribution providers. But now the Kindle and Kobo versions are back, and the other formats will be online again shortly.
And the flowers did bloom and the clouds did part, and the angels did sing their glorious song. And then Cross murdered them for their grace.
Well, that was unexpected
Updated to reflect the new rankings. OK, I really have to go and do some work now!
One of the interesting things about watching The Dead Hamlets go out into the world — don’t forget to call, Hamlets! — is the way the book has renewed interest in the first Cross novel, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice. I knew some people would come to The Dead Hamlets first and then pick up The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, but I’d just assumed it would give the ol’ Mona Lisa a minor boost in sales.
Instead, the two novels have been running neck and neck, and The Mona Lisa Sacrifice has had intriguing spikes in sales where it shoots ahead of The Dead Hamlets. (Yes, I compulsively check my Amazon ratings, just like any other author. I need to do something when I’m not writing but the baby is napping on me!) So it’s nice to see the second book renew interest in the first one — or generate new interest, whatever is the case.
I was blown away and excited to see The Mona Lisa Sacrifice hit No. 5 in Amazon.ca’s Contemporary Fantasy bestseller list, while The Dead Hamlets hit No. 9. Mona Lisa also hit No. 7 in Amazon’s Historical Fantasy bestsellers, while Dead Hamlets hit No. 9. I don’t think any of my books have charted that high before. As a bonus, The Mona Lisa Sacrifice hit No. 25 in the CanLit bestseller list. I never expected to be a CanLit bestseller at all with these books!
Anyway, thanks for reading my Cross books. Knowing there are people out there who like them makes it that much easier to finish the third book in the series.
Ebooks now 50% off!
My publisher ChiZine is selling all their ebooks at 50% off until Sunday, March 15th, to make up for the technical difficulties as they switch ebook distributors for Kindle, etc.
Get The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, the first book in the Cross series, for $5.
Get The Dead Hamlets, the sequel to The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, for $5.
That’s right, you can get each book for less than the price of a Starbucks drink. And they’re better for you than that Starbucks junk. Well, better for your body. The books are probably kind of harmful for your mind….
Awwww
My two Peter Roman books are like best friends on the charts. I can’t wait to see how they get along with the third book!
Some more review love
I was happy to see a nice review of The Dead Hamlets in the Vancouver Sun, one of my hometown papers. Actually, it’s a nice review of the Cross series, so that’s even better. My favourite line: “Come for the chase scenes and the grave-digging, stay for the literary references, strewn like candy thrown from a parade.” He’s right — I am having a great time writing these books!
peter darbyshire 